TITANIC: Live On, Never Let Go
by drakenichols1
Summary: What do we have here? CANAAN set in the movie universe of TITANIC! Awesome! Imagine all the characters of CANAAN play as the characters in TITANIC. See how that goes. Cast found inside. CanaanxMaria fic. WARNING: Yuri/Shoujo Ai, Nudity, Language inside.
1. AUTHOR'S NOTES

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Hey everyone! Owen Fabian here bringing you my very first fanfiction (confused with this? see the A/N of my other CANAAN fic.) featuring our favorite CANAAN pairing: CanaanxMaria! Whew! I tell ya'll, I enjoyed the series so much that I really wanted to start something for these two. And the last episode, disappointing as it is, made me want to do this even more!

Now you're probably all wondering about what this fic is gonna be about. Like I said, it features Canaan and Maria and some other characters from the show. And the setting is in, you guessed it, the movie Titanic! Yessir! Of course, you've probably figured it all out by just looking at the title ..

So anyway! You're probably also wondering how all the characters are gonna fit into the Titanic setting. Well guys, I will assign them to the roles of the original characters of the movie but using their names. For example, the main pairing, Canaan and Maria will be taking on the roles of Jack and Rose and have them use their own names (to put it in simpler terms, instead of calling them Jack and Rose, we'll call them Canaan and Maria. Duh….)

As for other characters from Titanic, I think I will give them original names of my own. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze them into the story well.

Another thing I would like to add is that some parts of the Titanic storyline are changed due to me having a few original ideas of some eventful outcomes in the story, plus I really do not remember some parts from the movie so I think I can change it a bit.

And now for copyright! TITANIC and CANAAN do not belong to me, or their characters! They belong to James Cameron and Type-Moon (Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi) separately.

I hope you all enjoy this fanfiction and I do wish you would leave reviews for me.

**Warning:** This fanfiction contains yuri/shoujo-ai (girlxgirl love) and explicit scenes and language. Readers under 15 are not allowed to read this unless they are mature enough to handle this type of thing.

**ENJOY!!! ^^**


	2. Cast

**CAST: (Roles played by the characters of CANAAN into the characters of TITANIC, some with unique names, and some characters from the movie kept...)

* * *

**

Canaan Kujikawa - as Jack Dawson

Maria Oosawa/Maria Kujikawa/Maria Kujikawa Arisato (lol) - as Rose Bukater/Rose Dawson/Rose Dawson Calvert

Alphard 'Al' Ashihito - as Calvin 'Cal' Hockley

Yuri Oosawa - as Ruth Bukater

Fabrizio De Rossi - as himself

Thomas 'Tommy' Ryan - as himself

Liang Qi - as Spicer Lovejoy

Minoru Minorikawa - as Brock Lovett

Cummings - as Lewis Bodine

Yuna 'Yun-Yun' Arisato - as Lizzy Cavert (Rose's granddaughter)

Hakko Ito - as Margarete 'Molly' Brown

Santana Orino - as Thomas Andrews

Captain Edward John Smith - as himself

Joseph Bruce Ismay- as himself

* * *

**That's all. Enjoy! ^^**


	3. Introduction

Owen: Hey guys! Welcome to my new fanfiction, TITANIC: Live On, Never Let Go! I had this in my mind for a while and I thought it would both interest and amuse you readers. Why? Because I got the best movie and the characters of best anime of all time and mushed it up together! HAHAHA!!! Oh, this is gonna be so great! Alright, so right now we will be having special guests reading along with us throughout the story. Wanna know who they are? You already do! Please welcome the ever-so-adorable couple of the series and this fic, Canaan and Maria! Give 'em a round of applause, people!

Canaan and Maria: [Enter the room and sits beside Owen. They wave at the audience.] Sup guys!

Owen: Hey! How are you guys?

Canaan: We're good. Thanks. And you?

Owen: A lot better now that I've submitted a super-cool-awesome-ass-kickin' story such as this! This is totally the most unique and special story I have ever created in my entire life!

Maria: Why is that?

Owen: Because I get to make a fic featuring you two in the setting of my most favorite movie! I gotta say, you two fit the category of characters quite well!

Maria: Really?

Canaan: Question, though. Why are you wearing the same outfit you're wearing in the other fanfic, 'Unexpected'?

Owen: [Laughs.] It's because I am writing this at the same time as writing that, Canaan. I wanna meet deadlines quick.

Maria: Don't push yourself though.

Owen: Thanks! Now, you're probably excited to get this baby started. Am I right?

Both: Yep!

Owen: Good! We'll start in a moment. But right now, I just wanna thank all the viewers for giving me such wonderful comments for my other CANAAN fics. You guys really make my day with your heartfelt reviews and requests. No one has ever relied on me before, so I'm all new to this.

Canaan: That's because of what you went through in High School. You weren't much of a popular kid there when it came to society.

Owen: [Nods.] Yeah. I was famous for being their number one punching bag. But that's all behind me now! I've got a new school, new friends, and new opportunities to take!

Canaan: Damn straight!

Maria: We believe in you, Owen!

Owen: Thanks! So, I apologize for the delay. Ahem! So, without further a do...I give you...TITANIC: Live On, Never Let Go! Enjoy! And don't forget to leave reviews!


	4. Prologue

Atlantic Ocean, 1997...

"She's a goddamned liar!" Rick Cummings yelled out in anger.

Minoru Minorikawa groaned as his colleague continued to complain. For the past three years, Minoru, Cummings and his expedition team had been searching for the ever so famous and legendary sunken ship RMS Titanic in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He had nearly spent all his expedition funds on searching for this ship and he finally found it.

But that's not really what he's after. Oh, no. He was after something else.

It was said that a passenger of the ship, who goes by the name of Maria Kujikawa, had possessed a valuable item of jewelry called the Heart of the Ocean during the sinking of Titanic. It is said that it had cost billions (really?) and it would earn the one who finds it more than a fortune back in America and England.

But after a long while of searching the ship and finding the locked safe of Alphard Ahihito, a passenger of the ship and Maria Kujikawa's fiancee, there was no sign of the diamond.

Though they did find an old sketchbook inside the locked safe of a nude woman lying on a couch wearing the said jewelry. After showing it in a live interview in CNN, they received a call from an old woman by the name of Maria Arisato, who claimed to be the woman in the picture.

His interest now heightened, he had allowed her and her granddaughter to come on board the ship. He had questions to ask her.

But for the moment, he had to get back to listening to Cummings' bitching...

"A nutcase! Like that...what's her name?" His colleague thought for a moment. "That Anastasia babe!"

_Should I keep listening? Or pretend to listen?_ Minoru thought.

"She says she's Maria Oosawa, right? Maria Oosawa died on the Titanic. At the age of 17. If she'd lived, she'd be over a hundred now."

He turned back to his partner. "A hundred and one next month."

Cummings blinked twice before speaking again. "Okay, so she's a really old goddamned liar. I traced her as back as the 20's... she was working as an actress in L.A. An actress. Her name was Maria Kujikawa. Then she married a guy named Calvert, moved to Cedar Rapids, had two kids. Now Calvert's dead, and from what I've heard Cedar Rapids is dead."

Minoru rolled his eyes. "And everyone who knows about the diamond is dead...or on this ship. But she knows about it. And I want to hear what she has to say. Got it? Now stop whining, or I'll break your face!"

After giving him a piece of his mind, he went over to the landed helicopter. The blades were still rotating but were gradually decreasing in speed.

The helicopter crew chief hands out to him about ten suitcases, and then an aged Maria Kujikawa Arisato was lowered to the deck in a wheelchair by the ship's crewmen. Following from behind was Maria's granddaughter, Yun-Yun Arisato.

Minoru stared for a bit before a goldfish bowl was handed to him. He looked at the bowl and the ten suitcases._ She does not travel light...

* * *

_Maria and Yun-Yun had just gotten settled in their utilitarian room. Numerous framed photos were set on a bureau next to the goldfish bowl.

It's as if she made quite a home here...

Then, Minoru and Cummings stood by the doorway. Minoru was the first and only one to speak.

"Is your stateroom alright?"

The old woman smiled and nodded. "Yes. Very nice." She then looked at Yun-Yun. "Have you met my granddaughter, Yun-Yun? She takes care of me."

The girl giggled. "Yes. We met a few minutes ago, grandma. Remember, up on the deck?"

She thought for a moment and laughed. "Oh, yes."

_Forgetful, isn't she?_

She finished arranging her pictures properly on the bureau. "There, that's nice. I have to have my pictures when I travel. And Freddy of course." She looked at the fish swimming happily in the bowl. "Isn't that right, sweetie?"

Everyone sweatdropped.

Minuro cleared his throat. "Would you like anything?"

Maria looked at him and smiled. "Oh yes..." She paused. "I would like to see my drawing."

* * *

In the lab deck, preservation area...

Maria stood before her drawing in a tray of water, gazing at it with an expression that gives away the word 'surreal'. The drawing was almost as it was at that tragic night. She could see herself eighty-four years ago on that piece of paper.

She held her breath. Then closed her eyes...

She could see her hand, holding a conte crayon, deftly drawing her shoulder and hair with two efficient lines.

Her face in the drawing.

The drawer's face looking up at her, locking her own eyes with hers...

She opens her eyes, smiling as she remembered the very moment that drawing was made. She hadn't forgotten. How could she?

Not only was it in the night of the tragedy. But...

It was right after they had shared their first kiss...

Minoru's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Louis the XVI wore a fabulous stone, called the Blue Diamond of the Crown, which disappeared in 1792, about the time Louis lost everything from the neck up." He pointed at the computer screen which displayed the drawing ad had it zoomed over to the necklace. "The theory goes that the crown diamond was chopped too...recut into a heart-like shape...and it became Le Coeur de la Mer. The Heart of the Ocean. Today it would be worth more than the Hope Diamond."

"It was a dreadful, heavy thing," Maria said, pointing at the at the drawing. "I only wore it this once."

Yun-Yun went beside her grandmother. "You actually believe this is you, grandma?"

Maria looked at her wit ha raised brow. "It is me, dear. Wasn't I a hot number?"

Minoru sweatdropped. "Okay..." He cleared his throat. "So, anyway. I tracked it down through insurance records...and old claim that was settled under terms of absolute secrecy. Do you know who the claimant was, Maria?"

"Someone named Ashihito, I should imagine."

"Jin Ashihito, right!" he said happily. "Pittsburgh steel tycoon. For a diamond necklace his daughter Alphard Ashihito bought in France for her fiancee...you...a week before she sailed on Titanic. And the claim was filed right after the sinking. So the diamond had to have gone down with the ship." He pointed at the drawing. "See the date?"

Yun-Yun took a closer look. "April 14, 1912."

"If your grandma is who she says she is, she was wearing the diamond the day Titanic sank." He then went and bent down to Maria with a smile. "And that makes you my new best friend. I will happily compensate you for anything you can tell us that would lead to its recovery."

She smiled. "I don't want your money, Mr. Minorikawa. I know how hard it is for people who care greatly for money to give some away."

Cummings was skeptical. "You don't want anything?"

She pointed at the drawing. "You may give me this, if anything I tell you is of value."

Minoru smiled at Cummings then back at Maria. "Deal."

"By the way, grandma," Yun-Yun suddenly said. "This Alphard Ashihito...she's a girl, right?"

Maria nodded. "Yes?"

"Yet, she was your fiancee?" She nodded. "How can that be? You're both girls."

"Oh, well dear. You should know that in love..." She cleared her throat. "Race, age, and gender don't even matter. As long as you're happy with the one you love, you shouldn't worry about the details."

"Oh? So you loved Ashihito?"

She shook her head. "No."

They all sweatdropped.

"Uh, anyway!" Minoru said as he led them to the other side of the room. "Maria, over here are a few things we recovered from your stateroom."

On a table laid fifty or so objects, from mundane to valuable. Maria sat down the chair, shrinking into it as she can barely see over the top of the table. She lifted one trembling hand as she reached out to pick up a tortoise shell hand mirror.

She smiled happily as she held it. "This was mine. How extraordinary! It looks the same as the last time I saw it." She looked at her aged expression through the cracked glass. "The reflection has changed a bit."

"Please, take your time with these," Minoru gestured to the other objects.

Her attention went over to a silver and moonstone art-nouveau brooch. She picked it up. "My mother's brooch. She wanted to go back for it. Caused quite a fuss."

She picked up an ornate art-nouveau hair comb. A butterfly was placed on the front as a style of sorts.

She closed her eyes once more, seeing images and feeling emotions that laid dormant for eight decades. She could almost feel herself go back in time when she was on board the doomed ship.

Her heart stung a little. Then came along one little memory that made the pain go away...

_Canaan..._

She opened her eyes as she felt a hand place itself on her shoulder. She looked up to see Minoru looking at her. He had a caring smile on his face.

"Are you ready to go back to Titanic?" he asked.

* * *

Imaging Shack/Keldysh...

They were cramped in a room full of TV's that monitored the ship. One particular monitor showed a 2-D version of the ship.

"Live from 12,000 feet," Cummings said.

Maria looked raptly at an image of the bow railing. It obviously meant something to her.

Minoru was studying her reactions carefully.

"The bow is stuck on the bottom like an axe, from the impact. Here...I can run a simulation we worked up on this monitor over here." They all turned their attention to the monitor with the 2-D Titanic. He gestured to the screen as he continued to speak. "We've put together the world's largest database on the Titanic. Okay, here..."

"Maria might not want to see this, Rick," Minoru butted in.

"No, no. It's fine," Maria said. "I'm curious."

Minoru was a bit concerned. But he let it slide and signaled him to continue.

Cummings starts up the simulation and it was paralleled by his rapid-fire narration. "She hits the berg on the starboard side and it sort of bumps along...punching holes like a morse code...dit dit dit, down the side. Now she's flooding in the forward compartments..."

Maria looked at the simulation intently, totally ignoring Cummings' words. As she saw the Titanic rise up a thousand images of that night flashed through her mind. She could still see the scared looks of the passengers as they struggled to get to the stern of the ship.

_Fifteen-hundred cries of fear..._

_Fifteen-hundred screams of terror..._

_Fifteen-hundred prayers not heard..._

She closed her eyes as tears began to sting her eyes. She had cried a many so many years ago after the sinking of the Ship of Dreams. This is the first time in eighty-four years ago that she had shed tears for the great loss of innocent souls that tragic night.

Men died. Women died. Children died.

Everyone, except for her, that was left behind had frozen or drowned to death as Titanic was pulled into the dark abyss of the Atlantic. She could still hear the cries for help echoing into the night. One by one, each cry had dissipated as their final breaths left their bodies.

And yet she, among the many that had seemed to have been left for dead, had survived. And how did she survive? A woman, who she knew not much of, yet who knew her quite well, had risked her life to save her without a second thought.

_I survived...because of her..._

"...the bow pulls out of its dive and planes away, almost half a mile, before it hits the bottom going maybe twelve miles an hour. KABOOM!!!" That last word had startled her right out of her thoughts and her eyes shot right open. "The stern implodes as it sinks, from the pressure, and rips apart from the force of the current as it falls, landing like a big pile of junk." He looked back at her with a smile. "Pretty cool, huh?"

_I swear I'm gonna hit him for thinking that having an old woman reminisce about such a tragic incident is pretty cool, _Minoru thought while glaring at his partner.

Maria sighed. "Thank you for that fine forensic analysis, Mr. Cummings." She turned around. "Of course the experience of it was somewhat less clinical."

Slightly hating himself for this, Minoru decides to ask a question. "Will you share it with us?"

The aged woman froze. She looked back at the screens that displayed different parts of the ship. More images flashed by as men, women, and children screamed as the tyrant ship had begun to split into two.

She gasped and shut her eyes, tears flowing and sobs coming out. Yun-Yun came to her side with the wheelchair.

"I'm taking her to rest," she said quickly.

"NO!" she cried loudly. After a moment of calming down she regains her posture and sits in the middle of the room, where everyone gathers around to listen. She looked over to the monitors and shook her head lightly. "It's been eighty-four years..."

"Just tell us what you can-"

She cut Minoru off as she raised her hand to silence him. "It's been eighty-four years...and I can still smell the fresh paint. The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in." Minoru switches on the mini-recorder and sets it near her. "Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams. And it was." She smiled. "It really was..."

* * *

Prologue:

Southanmpton, England, April 10, 1912...

**(Note that **[]** means old Maria's narration, and **_"Italic"_** means subtitled.)**

Titanic stood proudly at the side of the port. Hundreds, no, thousands of people have gathered to see off their families and friends as they board the ship. Yells of happiness and sadness mixed as the passengers continued to fill up Titanic's interior.

Crew and officers from White Star Line attempted to keep order amongst the people who are not boarding the ship. Cars of all sorts have been carried over to the ship's lower levels.

Just a few feet away a white Renault comes to a halt. The driver dismounts and proceeds to open the door.

From inside of the Renault comes out a young woman, dressed in a purple and white outfit, along with an enormous feathered hat. Seventeen-year-old Maria Oosawa looked at the Titanic up and down with curiosity, but with lack of awe.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about," she said. "It doesn't look any bigger than the Mauretania."

A personal valet opens the other door, letting yet another attractive woman out. Alphard Ashihito stepped out of the Renault quirked a brow.

"You can be blase about some things, Maria, but not about Titanic. It's over a hundred feet longer than the Mauretania, and far more luxurious." She walked beside her fiancee. "It has squash courts, a Parisian Cafe...even Turkish baths."

"Like I care," Maria quietly mumbled.

Out of the car comes Maria's mother, Yuri Oosawa. As she makes her way to Alphard's side, Maria had already started to walk away. She was very well used to this attitude of hers.

"Your daughter is much too hard to impress, Yuri." She spots a puddle on the ground before them. "Mind your step."

Yuri looks up at the ship. "So this is the ship they say is unsinkable?"

Alphard chuckled. "It IS unsinkable. God himself cannot sink this ship!" She looked behind. "Liang! Hurry up! We're leaving!"

Liang Qi, Alphard's personal valet, had just finished piling up the last of the luggage onto a cart. "I'm coming, Miss!"

Alphard caught up with Maria. "Maria, dear. What's with you, today?" She didn't respond. "I pulled every string I could to book us on the grandest ship in history, in her most luxurious suites...and you act as if you're going to your execution."

[It was the Ship of Dreams...to everyone else. To me it was a slave ship, taking me back to America in chains. Outwardly I was everything a well brought up girl should be. Inside, I was screaming.]

* * *

Meanwhile, Sailor's Pub...

Inside a small pub, four men surrounded a small table, filled with cash and two White Starline Tickets to go onboard Titanic, played a simple yet intense game of Poker.

Well, that description would be wrong considering that one of them happens to be a girl...

Canaan Kujikawa, age eighteen, was a traveling penniless artist in search of new discoveries in the world. But today, with the two tickets down at the table, she's willing to win her way home.

Fabrizio De Rossi, age twenty, was Canaan's best friend for a few years now. They've both been traveling partners for quite some time and Canaan had promised to bring him to America someday. It seems that that day could be today.

The two Swedish men on the opposite sides of the table, Sven and Olaf, had recently got into an argument.

_"You stupid fishhead. I can't believe you bet our tickets," _Olaf mumbled.

Sven glared at him. _"You lost our money. I'm just trying to get it back. Now shut up and take a card."_

Fabrizio glared at Canaan. "C, you are crazy. You bet all our money."

Canaan looked at him with a smirk. "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose." She then shifted her attention to all of them. "Alright. Now, moment of truth boys. Somebody's life's about to change." She looked at her friend. "Fabrizio?" He set his deck down. "Niente?"

"Niente," he repeated.

She turned to Olaf. "Olaf? You?" He set his deck down. "Squat." She turned to Sven. "And you, Sven?"

"Heheh, what do you think?" Sven chuckled as he set his cards down.

Canaan cringed. "Uh oh. Two pair..." She turned to her companion. "I'm sorry, Fabrizio."

He was enraged. "What sorry?! Ma va fa'n--you bet all our money--!"

"I'm sorry you won't be seeing your mama for a long time..." she butted in. Upon seeing his confused face, she decided to continue with a wide smile. "...'cause we're going to America!" She slams her deck on the table. "FULL HOUSE, BOYS!!!"

Fabrizio screamed with happiness as he took a look at the cards. Everyone in the pub had turned their attention to the rowdy Italian and artist. They were practically dancing around the table.

Canaan was just scooping up their earnings when Olaf had seized her by the collar. She looked up at him and saw a rather furious expression.

Duh...

His hand balled into a fist. She shut her eyes, bracing for the impact of his fist on her face. But nothing came as she was let go and the punch went directly to the other Swedish man.

Olaf was now in the middle of beating the daylights out of Sven as he began cursing him in Swedish.

The two travelers can only laugh at the scene. Canaan kissed the tickets as Fabrizio stashed the money in their bag.

"Il giorno il più fortunato di nostro vive!" Fabrizio exclaimed.

Canaan held out her arms to hug him. "I'm going home!"

They crashed into a tight embrace as they continued to laugh with joy. It really does seem like they won the lottery.

Fabrizio broke the hug and looked at the other customers. "I go to l'America!"

"No lad!" the pubkeeper said, making the two turn to him. He gestured to the clock. "Titanic is going to America, in five minutes! Hahaha!."

They both looked at each other and muttered and 'oh shit', both in their own language. They quickly shouldered their belongings and rushed out of the pub.

They ran through the crowds, almost knocking over anyone in their way.

"You're gonna love it there, Fabri!" Canaan yelled out to her friend. "To the land 'o the free and the home of real hot-dogs!" She laughed. "And to make things better, we're gonna be cruising in the TITANIC going there! We're ridin' in high-style now! We're practically goddamned royalty now, ragazzo mio!"

Fabrizio laughed hard as he struggled to catch up wit her. "You see?! Is my destinio! Like I told you! I go to l'America to be a millionario!" Hearing his friend laugh some more, he began to say something else. "You crazy! You know that?!"

"Maybe! But I got the tickets!" she replied happily as she waved the tickets.

They finally make it to the third-class gangway aft. They were about to pull in the small plank of wood until they were stopped by the two young travelers.

"Wait! We're passengers!" They both stopped in front of the gangway, Canaan giving the tickets to the officer. "We're passengers."

He inspected the tickets. "Have you been to the inspection queue?"

"Of course!" she lied. "Anyway, we don't have lice, we're Americans." She glanced at Fabrizio. "Both of us."

The officer nodded. "Right. Come right in."

"Thanks man." They both hopped over the gap and made it inside the ship. They ran across the cramped corridors. "We're the luckiest sons of bitches in the world, ya know that?!"

The two burst through a door onto the aft. well deck. They followed the huge crowd onto the poop deck and then to the rails. Canaan had began yelling out goodbyes and waves to the huge crowd below.

Fabrizio looked at him. "You know somebody?"

She laughed. "Of course not! But that's not the point!"

As she continued, Fabrizio decided to join in. "Goodbye! I will never forget you!"

* * *

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Third Class Berthing/G-Deck Forward...

Canaan and Fabrizio walked along the narrow corridors looking for their room. Along the way they passed countless emigrants, trying to translate the signs they see into their own language. Some have gotten into arguments regarding their luggage.

"Oh, here it is," Canaan said and opened the door to their room, Fabrizio following suite. They see their two roommates and she shakes their hands. "Hey. Canaan Kujikawa. Nice to meet ya." She turns around to the bunk beds, only to find Fabrizio all settled in the top bunk. She laughs and playfully hits him. "Who said you get top bunk?"

The two other guys exchange looks before one of them asks, _"Where's Sven?"

* * *

_Millionaire's Suite...

Alphard watches as Rose's paintings are brought into the room. She shakes her head. "Those things are a waste of money, dear."

"I like them," Maria replied. "They're fascinating. Like a dream...there's truth without logic. What was his name again?" She read off the canvas. "Picasso?"

Her fiancee scoffed. "He'll never make any fortune with what style he uses. At least they were cheap." A porter wheels Alphard's private safe into room on a handtruck. "Put that in the wardrobe."

Maria rolled her eyes and entered the bedroom. She sits on the bed and sighs. Alphard sits right next to her, wrapping her arm around her waist.

It was a sign of possession. Not intimacy.

She glared at Alphard. "What?"

"Can't your fiancee give you a hug every once in a while?" she replied.

"Sure." She stood up and headed outside. "When you start caring."

* * *

First Class Reception/D-Deck...

A woman, most likely around her mid twenties, entered the reception carrying two large suitcases in each hand. A porter rushed to her to offer assistance with her bags.

She turned to him and chuckled. "Well, I wasn't about to wait all day for you." She handed him the suitcases. "If you can manage, kindly take them the rest of the way."

He nodded. "Yes ma'am."

[At Cherbourg a woman named Hakko had come aboard this ship. History would call her the 'Unsinkable Hakko'. Her husband had struck gold someplace out west, and she was what mother called 'New Money'.]

"You look like you're having some trouble with even one. Lemme take the other one, then."

[By the next afternoon we had made our final stop and we were steaming west from the coast of Ireland, with nothing out ahead of us but ocean...]

* * *

The Bridge...

Captain Smith smiles as he stares out into the horizon, a sun shining brightly as they sailed through the vast ocean. He turns to his First Officer, Mr. William Murdoch. "Full speed, Mr. Murdoch. Let's stretch her legs."

He nodded with a smile. "Right away sir." He moved the telegraph lever to All Ahead Full. The men in the engine room have seem to have gotten the message and the ship had already started to speed up. He calculated the estimated speed. "Twenty-one knots, sir!"

All the captain could do was smile.

* * *

Ship's Deck (Dunno what you call it...)...

Canaan and Fabrizio ran up to the front of the ship, leaning over the bow as they looked down at the water. They watched the waves of the ocean smash into the front of the ship's tip with realization on how fast the ship is going.

Then, the young female traveler spotted something in the water. "Hey! Look look look!" She and her friend spotted two dolphins swimming up to the surface of the water as they attempted to race with the ship. "Do you see that?!"

"Look, C! There are more!" Fabrizio yelled out as he pointed at the right.

"Oh, look at that one!" They both watched a dolphin jump out of the water and then back again. "Whoo! Look at him jump!"

They both gaze ahead of the Atlantic. Smiles are still plastered on their faces as they stare into the horizon.

"I can see the Statue of Liberty already!" Fabrizio laughed. "Pretty small, of course."

She laughed and stood on the railing. "Fabri! I feel like screaming! You too?!" He nodded. "Alright."

She took a really...really...really deep breath. Her friend was curious as to what she would say. But he didn't question it.

"Hehe!" he laughed.

She spread her arms out wide. "I'M KING OF THE WORLD!!! WOOHOOHOO!!!" Fabrizio joined in the screaming. "YEE-HAW!!! YEAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!"

Canaan closed her eyes and felt the wind hit her, arms still spread open. She felt like flying there and now. It felt so...

...liberating.

* * *

First Class Dining Salon/Daytime...

"...and our master shipbuilder, Mr. Santana Orino here, designed her from the keel plates up," Bruce Ismay, Managing Director of White Star Line, said as he gestured to the man beside him.

Santana shook his head and smiled. "I only put her together. This man here had envisioned a steamer so grand in scale, and so luxurious in its appointments, that its supremacy would never have been challenged. And here she is..." He knocks on the table. "...willed into reality."

Hakko quirked a brow. "Why are ships always being called a 'she'? Is it because men think half the women around have big sterns and should be weighed in tonnage?"

They all shared a laugh.

Just as the waiter comes in to take their orders, Maria lights up a cigarette. Yuri glares and leans towards her.

"You know I don't like that, Maria," she whispers.

Alphard takes the cigarette from her and jabs it into the ashtray. "She knows." She turns to the waiter. "We'll both have the lamb, with a little mint sauce."

"Yes, ma'am," the waiter said as he moves to take the orders of others.

She turns to her fiancee. "You like lamb, don't you sweetpea?"

Hakko grins slyly. "You gonna cut her meat too for her, Al?" She then turns her attention to Ismay. "So, who came up with the name 'Titanic'? You, Bruce?"

"Yes, actually," he replied. "I wanted to convey sheer size. And size means stability, luxury...and safety--"

"Do you know of Dr. Freud, Mr. Ismay?" Maria butted in. "His ideas of the male preoccupation with size may be of particular interest of you."

Santana chokes on his breadstick, holding back laughter. "Oh..."

Yuri was furious. "What's gotten into you?"

"Excuse me," Maria muttered as she rose from her seat and walked away.

Her mother was mortified. "Oh, I am terribly sorry."

"She's a pistol, Al," Hakko said. "I hope you can handle her."

Alphard smirks. "Well, I might want to start minding what she reads from now on."

* * *

Poop Deck/After Deck...

Canaan sits on a bench, her knees curled up close to her chest, and her sketchpad and conte crayon at hand. She had been, for a while, sketching an emigrant and his three-year-old daughter by the railing. She was almost done.

The girl was good. Really good. She could actually put the reality and humanity of what she draws into paper, like a memory of a clear but old image etched into her mind.

Fabrizio looked over her shoulder. He nodded appreciatively with admiration of her work.

Just beside them is an unshaven Irish man, looking around the deck out of boredom. He seemed to have spotted a crew-member pass by with three small dogs in leashes.

He shook his head. "That's typical. First class dogs come down here to take a shit."

Canaan looked up from her drawing and smiled at him. "That's so we know where we rank in the scheme of things."

"Like we could forget." He laughs and holds up his hand. "I'm Tommy Ryan."

She shakes it with her own. "Canaan Kujikawa. Call me 'C'." She points her thumb at her traveling partner. "This is Fabrizio. My main man."

"Hiya," Tommy greets and Fabrizio waves back with a smile. "So, ye make any money with yer drawings?"

Just as she was about to respond, her eye wandered over across the well deck at the aft railing of B deck. A girl, hair blond, skin white, eyes golden yellow, barely even looks seventeen, and clothes obviously expensive, stood there. She was gazing into space.

Canaan couldn't keep her eyes off of her. It's as if she was a magnet for his eyes.

But something was wrong.

She had a sad look in her eyes. Why? Why did she have such an expression on that beautiful face of hers?

_Wait, beautiful?_ Canaan pondered.

Before she knew it, the girl had trailed her eyes across the poop deck and met her own. They stared at each other.

At that moment, time seemed to have halt. Their own gazes had met and a spark connected them together. They couldn't stop staring.

Curious at what she was looking at, Fabrizio and Tommy looked over to the direction to where she was staring at. They saw the girl. Both of them grinned.

"Ah forget it, lass," Tommy began. "You'd as like have angels fly out o' yer arse as get next to the likes of her."

"It no use, Tommy," Fabrizio said as he waved his hand in front of her face. "She no pay attention when she see something she likes."

But she paid no heed to their words. She never took her eyes off the girl.

Then from behind, a woman comes in and starts talking to the girl. The woman's face looks stern. The girl just shook her head and walked away.

_Is that it? Is her problem...her?

* * *

_First Class Dining Saloon, Nighttime...

Maria sat in front of a dining table, watching her mother converse with the other rich folks seated with them. Al was somewhere else with more rich men and women, bragging about the engagement.

She felt quite out of place. And she wanted to leave now...

[I saw my whole life as if I'd already lived it...and endless parade of parties and cotillions, yachts and polo matches...always the same narrow people, the same mindless chatter. I felt like I was standing at a great precipice, with no one to pull me back, no one who cared...or even noticed.]

"Mother," she spoke out suddenly. Yuri turned to her. "I'm not feeling well. May I be excused?"

"Are you alright, dear?" she asked. "Are you feeling seasick?"

She shook her head. "No. Just a little tired, that's all."

"Oh well, then let Trudy accompany you to your room--"

"No. I'm alright. I can find my way back, myself."

Unsure and quite concerned, Yuri really wanted someone to be with her on the way to her room. But seeing that the First Class section happens to be pretty well guarded she reluctantly decides to let her be.

She nods. "Alright. Be careful on your way, Maria."

* * *

Maria's Bedroom...

Maria screamed as she tore the pearl necklace from her neck and let the pearls scatter across the room. She took her handmirror and threw it at the vanity, cracking it. She threw a foot stool across the room, knocking a lamp over.

She was furious. Obviously...

After keeping her feelings and stress in, after having it build up for quite some time, she snapped. Her control was no longer present. She wanted to get out of there.

No matter what...

* * *

A Deck Promenade, Aft...

Maria ran along the B Deck promenade, hair let loose from its band and cheeks soaked with tears. She bumped into everyone in her way, making them look at her with utter surprise.

She kept sobbing as she continued to run. She was sad, but also furious. She never wanted a life like this.

She never even had a say in the whole engagement ordeal. She was, literally, forced into this engagement by her mother. And for what?

The root of all evil...money.

After experiencing so much shit in her life like being forced into things, being ignored, being cast aside and treated like a possession she's finally had it. She's had enough. She's done with this crap.

* * *

Poop Deck...

Canaan was alone, lying on her back on a bench, looking up at the starry sky while chewing on a stick of Pockey (dunno if they already existed here). She was lost in thought. She had a lot of things in her mind.

_How much has America changed?_

_Are my friends still there?_

_Will Fabrizio like America and fulfill his dream?_

_Is that girl okay?_

That girl...

Canaan had been thinking about that girl since this morning. For some reason she can't stop her thoughts about the First Class girl. He was...

...intrigued...but even more so concerned...

Why? She didn't know. She had never met the girl, let alone know her well enough to care.

And yet she does. It was probably the look on her face that gave her away. It had explained everything that she was:

Sad...

Angry...

Lonely...

...

....

.....

......

_Am I just over-thinking things?_ As she thought that, she heard running footsteps coming from behind. A figure clad in white had just run past her for a brief millisecond. She sat up and quirked a brow. "Huh?"

She stands up from the bench and follows her...

* * *

Poop Deck...

Maria stops running and leans on the railing, breathing heavily as she tries to catch her breath. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks. Her sobs were making it difficult to regain her composure.

She hiccups and she collapses on the floor, her hands and head leaning on the railing. She balls her hands into fists and she grits her teeth. She bites her bottom lip until she could taste blood then attempts to stand.

She uses the railing as support. She felt weak all of a sudden, like her energy had left her body. She ran and cried, so perhaps that type of combination can tire someone out.

Looking down at the pitch-black water below, she lifts her feet up to step onto the railing. She does her other foot the same, then she climbs over to the other side of the railing, now facing the cold dark ocean under her.

Her back leaned against the railing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was collecting herself as she prepared for the jump.

_I wonder if anyone would even miss me,_ she thought to herself.

"Don't do it," a voice from behind called out.

She whips her head around at the sound of the voice. She sees a boy, hair a mix of silver and blond, hazel eyes, and light tanned skin stood about ten feet away from her. His face had a look of both concern and fear.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!" she yelled.

"Calm down. Come on..." The boy held her hand out to her. "Take my hand. I'll pull you back in."

"No! Stay where you are. I meant it. I'll let go."

The boy put his hand down. He nodded and reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pockey stick. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.

He held up the wrapper and gestured over to the water. He was going to throw the wrapper away.

Hesitating, she gave him a nod. He slowly walked over to her side and threw the wrapper into the water.

"No, you won't," he said.

She quirked a brow. "Won't what?"

"You won't jump."

She glared at him. "What do you mean? Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do! You don't know me, boy!"

His brows rose. "Boy, huh? Well..." He took his hat off, letting slightly long, chin-length hair sway freely due to the wind. "You don't know me either, Miss."

Maria furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes. "A girl?" He--she nodded. "You looked like a boy." She studied her a bit. "A really, really feminine boy."

She smiled. "That's been said on occasion."

"What on earth are you doing, wearing men's clothing?"

She chuckled. "You could say that if I wear girl's clothes, a certain part of the dress would sag in a certain area."

"What?" She pointed at her chest, bringing her into realization. _A small chest. No wonder I thought she was a boy._

"You should've noticed by just looking."

"Oh. But anyway, that still won't change the fact that I will jump!"

"Really?" She shook her head and leaned against the railing. "If you were really gonna jump, then you would've done it already."

_What on earth is she...?_

"So. Come on." She lifted her hand once more. "Take my hand."

"Go away. You're distracting me."

She sighed and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "I can't. I'm involved now. If you let go, I have to jump in after you."

The rich girl was shocked. "Don't be absurd. You'll be killed."

She just shrugged. "I'm a good swimmer."

"The fall alone will kill you."

She took off her jacket. "It would hurt. I'm not saying it wouldn't. To be honest..." She pauses as she begins to unlace her shoes. "...I'm a lot more concerned about the water being so cold."

Maria blinked. "How cold?"

The girl took of her shoes. "Freezing. Maybe a couple degrees over?" She put her hands on her hips. "Ever been to Wisconsin?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Well, they have some of the coldest winters around, and I grew up there, near Chippewa Falls." She grins and leans on the railing once more. "Once when I was a kid, me and my father were ice-fishing out on Lake Wissota...ice-fishing's where you chop a hole in the--"

"I know what ice-fishing is!" Maria interrupted, annoyed.

She held her hands up. "Sorry. Just...you look kinda like an indoor girl." The rich girl got angrier and puffed her cheeks. She just let out a laugh. "Anyway, I went through some thin ice and I'm tellin' ya, water that cold..." She pointed at the water below. "...like that right down there...it hits you like a thousand knives on your body. You can't breath, you can't think...least not about anything but the pain."

Maria looks down at the water. "Huh."

The girl nodded. "Yeah. Which is why I'm not looking forward to jumping in after you." She sighed and threw her hands up. "But like I said, I don't see a choice." She gave her a funny and gentle smile. "I guess I'm kinda hoping you'll come back over the rail and get me off the hook here."

She looked back at her. "You're crazy."

"That's what everybody says. But with all due respect..." She paused as she moved and leaned closer. "...I'm not the one hanging off the back of the ship." She holds up her hand, still keeping that gentle smile of hers. "So, come on. You don't want to do this. Take my hand."

She stares at this madwoman for a long time. She looks at her eyes and they somehow suddenly seem to fill her universe.

A nod. "Alright."

The girl's smile widens as she takes her hand. And at that moment, when skin touched skin, they both had the same thought in their minds...

_So soft and warm..._

She clears her throat. "Canaan Kujikawa."

"Maria Oosawa," she greets back shakily. "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Kujikawa."

"Call me Canaan or C," she said with a smile.

Now that she has decided to live, the height is terrifying. No one would wanna be in the same place as her right now. Even more so at what is to come...

She starts to climb up, only to have her dress get in the way of her foot, making her slip and plunging down. She let out a loud shriek then, with her hand still locked with Canaan's, had jerked her toward and onto the rail. She had barely grabbed a lower rail with one free hand.

"HELP! HELP!" she screams.

"It's okay!" Canaan attempts to calm her. "I've got you. I won't let go." As she said that, Maria looked at her eyes. Her eyes had told truth and determination in her words. She was never gonna let go. "Now pull yourself up! Come on!"

Maria nods and calmly but quickly begins to climb back up, with the support of Canaan's hand. The other girl uses all her strength to pull Maria back up to the railing and succeeds. Maria climbs over the railing and suddenly trips again, this time towards Canaan.

For some reason, as they both fall onto the floor, Canaan is the one who ended up on top of Maria. Their noses were mere inches from touching. They both stare at each other, blushing madly at how close their faces are.

Then from behind, Quartermaster Rowe ran up the stairs to where the screams came from. He sees the awkward sight and gets the wrong idea. He shoots a glare at Canaan.

"Stay where you are!" he yelled at her as two seamen came rushing to his side. "Back away!"

She rolled her eyes. " 'Stay where you are', 'Back away'. Which is it? Make up your mind."

"I said back away!" As she stood up and stepped away from Maria, he turned to the two seamen by his side. "Fetch the Master at Arms."

* * *

Poop Deck, a few minutes later...

The Master at Arms handcuffed Canaan. Maria was sitting on a nearby bench a towel wrapped around her, crying. Alphard was in front of Canaan, furious.

"What made you think you could put your hands on my fiancee?!" the infuriated woman questioned the female artist. Canaan just looked past her shoulder to look at Maria. This angered the woman even more. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, filth! What did you think you were doing, you stupid boy?!"

"I'm a girl," Canaan corrected.

Everyone stared at her.

"What?"

Looking at her in the eye, she repeated. "I said I'm a girl."

Alphard looked at her up and down, doubting her words as she examined her body. "Doesn't look like it, to me."

"I'm telling you, I'm a girl."

Thinking for a bit, Alphard came up with an idea to confirm her words. She shoved her hand onto the younger girl's chest and started squeezing, making her blush a bit and squirm. She pulled her hand back and tapped her chin.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yes!"

Once more, Alphard shoved her hand onto her. This time, on her crotch. The blush began to spread.

Alphard's brows rose and nodded. "Ohhh..."

Everyone sweatdropped.

The Master at Arms shook his head. "You're the filthy one, Ms. Ashihito." She glared at him. "Sorry."

Maria rose from the bench and walked up to her fiancee. "Al, stop! It was an accident!"

She looked at her with questioning eyes. "What?"

"I said it was a--hold on Can you take you take your hand off her crotch first, please?"

Alphard looked down at her hand and quickly pulled away. "Oops. Sorry."

"Anyway, it was an accident...stupid really." She shifted uncomfortably. "I was leaning over and I slipped."

"You were...you were leaning over. Why?"

Maria exchanged gazes with Canaan. "I was leaning over to see the uhh...the umm..."

She started to rotate her index finger, giving Alphard an idea on what she was trying to say. "Propellers?"

"Right! Propellers. And I slipped and I would have gone overboard...and Ms. Kujikawa here saved me, and she almost went over herself."

Everyone was silent. They just stared at the blond haired beauty. A million thoughts went through their minds.

Especially Alphard's. "You...you...wanted to...see the...propellers?"

Colonel Archibald Gracie, another man that had decided to tag along, shook his head. "Women and machinery do not mix."

The Master at Arms eyed Canaan suspiciously. "Was that the way of it?"

Canaan looked over to Maria, who happened to have a begging look on her face to play along. What's there to lose?

She nodded. "Yeah. That was pretty much it."

"Well! The the girl's a hero then!" Gracie exclaimed. "Or heroine, in your case. Good for you girl, well done!" He turns to Alphard. "So it's all's well and back to our Brandy, eh?"

Canaan is uncuffed. Alphard wraps her arm around Maria's and gets her moving.

She rubs her arms. "Let's get you in. You're freezing."

"Perhaps a little something for the girl?" Gracie suggested to Alphard, his voice low.

Alphard stops and nods. "Right." She turns to Liang Qi. "Liang, I think a twenty should do it."

Maria raised her brow at her fiancee. "Is that going to rate for saving the woman you love?"

She looks down at her. "Maria's displeased. What to do...?" She looks at Canaan, tapping her chin. "I know. Canaan, was it?"

Canaan nods. "Yes."

"Perhaps you could join us for dinner tomorrow, to regale our group of your heroic tale."

She looks at Maria. "Sure. Count me in."

"Good. Settled then." She starts to walk with Maria. "Let's be off, then." As Gracie joins the two, she leans close to his ear. "This should be amusing."

_I heard that,_ Canaan thought.

As she takes out a stick of Pocky and puts it in her mouth, Liang Qi walked up to her with her jacket. "I believe these are yours?"

Canaan takes it and nods in appreciation, takes the jacket and hat, then puts them on. "Thanks."

"You'll want to tie those." She motioned to Canaan's shoes. "Interesting that the young lady slipped so mighty all of a sudden and you still had time to take of your jacket and shoes. Mmmm?"

The female valet give her a bland but cold look before turning away to join the others. Canaan stared at her with a mix of amazement and fear. She fixed her hat and bit on the Pockey stick, snapping it with her hand.

* * *

To be continued...

Note: Please check out my character designs for the story in Deviant Art. The link is in my profile


	6. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Maria's Bedroom...

The blond haired beauty was just about to get ready for bed when Alphard suddenly enters. She didn't know what sort of conversation, argument, or scolding awaits her. She just waited for her fiancee to say something.

But she was surprised as two hands gently wrapped around her waist. Gently...?

"Are you uncertain about my feelings for you?" the older woman asked. She didn't say anything. "If so, then let me show you something that would make you more confident about how much I love you."

She took one arm off to take something out of her pocket. She pulled out what looks like a large velvet jewelry case. She took her other hand off and opened it up. Maria was even more shocked as she saw what was inside.

"Al," she breathed. "Is that...?"

"A diamond? Yes. Fifty-six carats." She took it out of the case and proceeded to put it around her neck. "It was once worn by Louis the sixteenth. It was called the Le Coeur de la Mer, the--"

"Heart of the Ocean, right?" Maria butted in, clearly knowing what it meant.

She grinned. "Yes."

"Al..." She looked down at it and touched it with her finger tips. "...it's overwhelming."

They both turn to the mirror. They gaze at their reflection...then at the diamond.

"It's for royalty. And we are royalty, Maria."

Alphard released her hands from the diamond and placed them on her fiancee's shoulders. Upon hearing the words she had spoken, she found that the tone of it was quite different from when she usually talks. There was...emotion put into it.

"Al..."

"There's nothing I couldn't give you. There's nothing I'd deny you if you'd deny me." She kissed her cheek gently. "Open your heart to me, Maria."

[Of course her gift was only to reflect light back to herself, to illuminate the greatness that was Alphard Ashihito. It was a cold stone...a heart of ice.]

* * *

Keldysh Imaging Shack, present day...

"Was it really that heavy?" Minoru asked.

Maria nodded. "Yes. Quite heavy. Which would make me not want to wear it every single day of my life."

"Yeah, but still it's heavy," Cummings mumbled. "Makes it even more appropriate to get it."

"Greedy little bastard..." Yun-Yun muttered inaudibly.

Suddenly, Cummings started laughing. "So, you were gonna kill yourself by jumping off the Titanic? That's just great!"

"Cummings," Minoru warned.

But Maria was laughing with him. "I actually find it funny myself!"

Cummings nodded and slapped his lap. "All you had to do was wait two days! Haha!"

Minoru shook his head and rested his elbows on his lap. "So, tell us more about the diamond."

"In time, Mr. Minorikawa," Maria said. "But I want to tell you more about my time there with Canaan."

He blinked. "But...we only need to know about the diamond."

She smiled gently. "Oh, dear Minoru. I assure you that if you would hear more about this girl, I am certain that you would lose interest in the diamond itself."

"Umm...I don't think that's possible." He sighed and nodded. "But, it's your story. Please, continue."

"Thank you."

Yun-Yun then shot her a worried look. "Grandma. Aren't you feeling tired?"

She shook her head. "No, dear."

Before Minoru could say anything, a man comes in and tells him to speak to him outside. He turned to everyone with a smile. "Excuse me." He exits the room and shuts the door. "What is it?"

The man crossed his arms. "The partners are pissed."

He groaned and frustration. "Listen, Bobby. You have gotta buy me time. Maria was wearing it on the day the ship sank!" He balled his hand into a fist and held it up. "I can almost feel it in the palm of my hand. I just need to work her a bit more, then we've got it!"

"Okay, I understand. But..." He looked passed him. "Are you certain that you closed the door properly?"

Minoru turned around to see Yun-Yun glaring at him. "Ooh...hey."

"Don't worry. I closed the door before she could hear anything else," she said, with venom in her voice.

He turned back to Bobby. "Hey, man. Can you give me a minute?" He nodded and walked away. Minoru turned back to her with desperation in his eyes. "Look, I need your help."

"Don't you mean work me?" she spat.

He sighed. "Listen to me. I have given almost everything for this expedition. And my wife even divorced me because I took this job." He leaned against the wall. "I'm in big trouble. So I really want her to get to the point."

"She is going to do this her way. Not yours, Minoru."

"I..." He stared at her for a while then sighed. "Fine."

There was silence between them. Then, Yun-Yun spoke up.

"Do you really believe she was on that ship?" she asked.

He nodded. "No doubt about it. She seemed to have explained everything in detail. That's enough to make me believe in her."

"But why would she come here? It must've been painful for her to even remember that night, let alone talk about it."

He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she's trying to make peace with the past."

She looked at him hard before sighing. "Fine. But if she says she's feeling tired, then I'm taking her to rest."

"Deal."

They both enter the room once more, seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces. Cummings was about to ask when Yun-Yun speaks up.

"Are you sure you're not tired, grandma?" she asked.

She shook her head. "No. Have a seat, Mr. Minorikawa." He does what she says, along with Yun-Yun, and turns the recorder back on. "The next day, Saturday, I remember thinking how the sunlight felt..."

* * *

April 13, 1912, B Deck Titanic, Morning...

"Hey! That looks nothing like me!" Canaan laughed as a little girl she was playing with drew a funny drawing of her. She took another conte crayon. "Well, two can play that game!"

As she drew, Fabrizio sat nearby, trying to have a conversation with a Norwegian girl. She was with her family.

"No Italian?" he asked her. "Some little English?"

She shook her head. Then, her eye caught something. Fabrizio looks, does a take...and Canaan, curious, follows their gaze to see...

"Morning, Canaan."

...Maria standing beside her. All activity in the room had come to a halt, silence loomed the air, and all eyes were on the rich and poor girls.

Canaan blinked twice then waved. "Heya."

"May I talk with you in private?"

Tommy and Fabrizio were floored. They didn't know what to say. They had just saw this girl the other day and they had thought she never had a chance in talking with her, let alone be a request from the lady herself.

"Uh..." She looked over to the little girl then back. "Sure. Hold on." She knelt down to the little girl's level. "I'll play with you some more, later. Alright?"

"Pwomise?" she asked.

She nodded. "Promise." Satisfied upon seeing the little girl smile, she stood up and turned to Maria. "After you."

Maria gave her a nod in appreciation then began to move up to the boat deck. Canaan followed her, glancing behind her to see a lot of shocked faces. She would never hear the end of this...

* * *

Boat Deck, a few minutes later...

The two girls walked side by side, both feeling stares from other people they pass by. They shared an awkward silence, both for different reasons.

Canaan felt really out of place due to her rough clothing. Maria didn't like the stares they were giving them.

_So what if I'm walking with a Third Class passenger? Is that so wrong?_ she thought.

"So, what's up?" Canaan spoke.

Maria snapped out of her thoughts and took a deep breath. "Ms. Kujikawa, I--"

"Canaan," she butted in. "I told you to call me that, right? C's fine, too."

She nodded. "Canaan...I feel like such an idiot. It took me all morning to get up the nerve to face you."

"Well, here you are."

"Here I am. I...I want to thank you for what you did. Not just for pulling me back..." She looked at her. "...but for your discretion."

"You're welcome..." She smiled. "Maria, was it?"

"Yes." She shook her head and sighed. "Look, I know what you must be thinking! 'Poor little rich girl. What does she know about misery?' "

Canaan gave her a gentle look. "That's not what I was thinking." She stuffed her hands down her pockets. "What I was thinking was...'What could have happened to hurt this girl so much she thought she had no way out?' "

She blinked before responding. "I don't...it's not just one thing. It was everything! It was them, it was their whole world." She looked down. "And I was trapped in it, like an insect in amber."

"Oh..."

"I just had to get out of there! I just ran and ran and ran...until there was no more room to run. I ended up at the back of the ship and I still didn't feel satisfied!" She closed her eyes, trying to fight back tears. "Before I knew it, I was hanging at the edge of the ship. I was over the rail thinking, 'Would anyone miss me?' "

She gave her a surprised look. "Your family? Friends? Of course they would."

Maria shook her head. "No they won't."

"How can you possibly say that?"

She turned to her. "You don't know my world, Canaan."

All the artist could do was chuckle. "Well, I'll find out tonight."

She sighed. "It's best that you don't go." A laugh from her. "Then again...someone like you would want to live life in luxury. This is your once in a lifetime chance, after all."

"It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. But..." Canaan walked in front of her, facing her. "...I'm more curious as to what made you want to kill yourself in the first place."

Maria quirked a brow at her. "Are you not one to seek fame and fortune?"

She shrugged. "I seek to live." Maria just looked at her with surprise. Laughing, she decided to change the subject. "So...Ms. Touchy from last night. Is she one of them?"

"Ms. Touchy?" she asked, then caught on. "Oh! You mean Al!"

"Right."

"Yes she is. And um...sorry about what she did to you last night."

She shook her head. "No big deal. I've had worse."

Maria furrowed her brows. "Worse?"

Canaan nodded then walked over to the side to lean on the rail, staring out at the ocean. "The streets could be...no...are a dangerous place for a girl." She sighed then looked down. "Even for a girl as boyish as me."

She gasped and covered her mouth. "You mean...?"

A nod. "I'm one of the few lucky ones to survive rape."

She went over to her side and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Surprisingly, she smiled. "Don't be. It doesn't matter. Ya know why?"

"Why?"

She looked at her, smiling brightly. "Because I'm alive and healthy."

Maria stared at her. She was amazed. This girl had suffered so much. And on top of that...she's poor.

It was obvious she didn't have a family. No one to comfort her. And yet...

Why doesn't she care? It can't possibly be because she's used to it. So why?

The sun's rays then hit the both of them. They both stared at each other as they glittered in their own vision under the sun's light. They were both dazzled at each other's sight.

_She's shining,_ they thought in unison.

Their cheeks became a bit red as they stared. Both had realized what they were doing and turned away quickly. They blushed even more.

"S--so do you go around a lot?" Maria asked, trying to break the ice and end the awkwardness.

She nodded. "Yeah. I do a lot of things to get around. And Fabrizio has been a great help. I watch his back and he watches mine."

Maria, still a bit flustered, managed to pull herself together to turn back to the silver blond. "Are you two..."

She did the same. "What?"

"Are you two...together?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No. We're bestfriends."

"Oh?" She tilted her head. "For how long, if I may ask?"

Canaan thought for a second. "Two...three years, maybe?" She grinned. "Why? Are you...jealous?"

Her eyes widened and she blushed once more. "What?! Why would I be jealous?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe it's because you were just so captivated by the very image of me shining?"

"What?"

"Come on, I saw you staring at me a few moments ago. You couldn't take your eyes off of me for a sec!"

Her jaw dropped. "How absurd! Not to mention rude! Have you forgotten that you had done the same thing?!"

She held her hands up. "That's because you were staring, girl."

Maria shook her head. "You know what? I take everything back. You are an arrogant, ill-mannered, and utterly shameless girl! I cannot believe I thought better of you!"

She shrugged. "That's to be expected."

"You know what? I am done! I am leaving so..." She took her hand and shook it. "Ms. Canaan. I thank you for what you've done for me yesterday. I looked all over the entire ship to do that. So, I have found you. And I have thanked you."

She nodded. "And you insulted me."

A pause. "Well, you deserve it."

Both of them smiled and stared. Canaan looked down at their hands and found them still moving up and down.

"I thought you were leaving?" she said.

She let go and nodded. "Right." She began to walk away before she turned back to her. "You are so annoying!" And when she continued to walk away, she walked right back to her. "Hold on! I don't need to leave! This is my part of the ship! You leave!"

Canaan laughed. "Ho ho ho! Well well well! Now who's being rude?"

She scoffed and looked down at the other girl's hand. She saw a long but thin book. She took it.

"What is this thing that you're carrying around, anyway?" She opened it and browsed through. "What are you, an artist?"

A laugh. "What do you think?"

As she browsed through more pages her interest began to grow. "Hm. These are rather good." More pages. "They're very good, actually."

They both sat on a vacant bench as she continued to stare at her work. Canaan had never thought that her drawings would intrigue even a person living the streets, let alone someone who lives in an estate. She had to admit that she was flattered.

"These are just things I do to kill time," she said. "Their quality is quite poor."

Maria, totally forgetting that she was mad earlier, looked at him disbelievingly. "Canaan, these are amazing! You should have more confidence in yourself!" She turned another page and she paused. "Well well well, C."

A picture of a nude woman was drawn on that paper. She was lying on what looked like a couch, her hand resting just above her head. Only half of her body was shown.

Canaan scratched her head, a little embarrassed as she saw the page. "I did that in Paris, along with the next few pages."

"Were these drawn from life?"

She nodded. "That's one of the great things about Paris. Lots of girls there are willing to take their clothes off."

The blond giggled. "That sounds weird coming from another girl." She looked at her. "Could it be that you're...?"

She shrugged. "Who knows?"

Maria flipped through more pages and noticed something. "You liked this girl. You used her a lot."

Canaan pointed at the picture. "She had beautiful hands."

"You must have had a love affair with her."

She laughed and shook her head. "No. Just with her hands."

The First Class girl closed the book and gave it back to her. "You have a gift, C. You do. You see people."

Canaan looked at her in the eye. "I see you."

Maria smiled and straightened up. "And...?"

"You wouldn't have jumped."

She stared at him before smiling. "I see. So tell me more about yourself, Canaan. What other adventures have you pursued?"

"Well, nothing much. Really."

"Oh. Well...what do you do for a living?"

She rests her elbows on her lap. "Ummm...it's pretty random. I always find work I can do. I did mining work for a while."

"Really?" She scooted closer. "Mining?"

"I'm a lot stronger than I thought." She thought for a while. "Okay...what else...? I worked in a pub as a janitor. And I used to scrub the barnacles off of ships."

Maria cringed. "Are those the only work you could possibly find?"

Canaan looked down and fidgeted her fingers. "I've always wanted to open up a business where I can use my skills in art."

"Where if people want you to draw them?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Where I could charge them two cents per piece. That's a pretty good deal, if you ask me."

"Yes." She placed a hand on hers. "So why don't you?"

The poor artist looked down at her hand and blushed slightly. "Well...I dunno. I guess it's because I'm still learning."

Maria stared at her in amazement. "You've been to a lot of places an done a lot of things." She sighed. "Why can't I be like you, Canaan? Just head out into the horizon when I feel like it?" She stands up in front of her. "Say we'll go there, sometime...to that pier...even if we only ever just talk about it."

She stood up and paced around, thinking. "Well...okay. When we get there we'll drink cheap beer, then ride on the roller-coaster until we throw up..." The blond laughed. "...and we'll ride horses on the beach...on the surf...but you gotta ride like a cowboy! None of that side-saddle stuff!"

"Really?! You mean one leg on each side?" She nodded. "Teach me!"

Canaan chuckled. "You see any horses around here?" But then she gave her a nod. "But, sure! I'll teach ya."

Maria giggled. "Thank you. And teach me how to spit. Like a man."

She quirked a brow. "What? They didn't teach you that in finishing school? Look closely..." She snorted and gathered up a lot of spit in her mouth. She took a deep breath then spit it out to the ocean. "See?"

"That was...disgusting."

She shrugged. "You wanted to learn. Okay, your turn." Maria gathered as much spit as possible then shot it out weakly. Ugh. "Pitiful! Come on. You gotta arch your back."

She gathered spit again then leaned back. "Like this?"

"Yeah. Okay, then spit it out with all you've got." She did what she said and spit it, a little farther off this time. "A bit better. But remember that you gotta time it just right as you push your body forward. Imagine yourself as a human slingshot, okay? The only thing is that you're shooting spit instead of rocks. Like this..."

She snorted again, once more gathering up her spit. Everyone was now staring at her...

...and it seems that something had caught Maria's eye.

The rich girl tapped Canaan, stopping her from doing it any further. Curious at to what she's looking at, she turned around and found a group of First Class women staring at her. She quickly swallowed her spit with a loud gulp.

Maria cleared her throat. "Mother, I would like you to meet Canaan Kujikawa."

Yuri stared at her as she waved. "Charmed, I'm sure."

Hakko was there with them and saw that there was spit rolling down Canaan's chin. She got her attention and pointed at her cheek, indicating that she had to wipe it.

She touched her chin with her hand and felt it wet. She quickly wiped away the spit, earning a laugh from Maria.

[The others were gracious and curious about the girl that saved my life. But my mother looked at her like an insect. A dangerous insect which must be squashed quickly.]

"Well, Canaan, it seems like you're a good girl to have around in a sticky spot," Hakko commented. Before anyone could say anything else, a bugler sounds the meal horn from behind. Hakko rolled her eyes. "Ugh, why do they insist on announcing dinner like a damn cavalry charge?"

Maria laughed and walked up to Yuri. "Shall we go, mother?" She looks over her shoulder to Canaan. "See you at dinner, C."

"Maria, look at you!" Yuri scolds as they walk away. "Out in the sun with no hat. Honestly..."

The others leave as well, leaving Hakko and Canaan alone.

"Dear, do you even have the slightest comprehension of what you're doing?" the spunky First Class passenger questioned.

Canaan shrugged. "Not really."

She put her hands on her hips. "Well, you're about to head into the snakepit. I do hope you're ready?" She paused and looked at her up and down. "What are you planning to wear?"

The artist looked down at her own clothes and sweatdropped. "Uh..."

"I figured."

* * *

Hakko's room, minutes later...

Canaan stood in front of a huge mirror, wearing a black suite and tie. Hakko fixed up the crooked tie and grinned.

"I was right!" she exclaimed happily. "You and my son are about the same size."

_I dunno if I should be happy about that or..._ She sighed and just smiled. "How do I look?"

"Good," she replied. "My my...you look like a new penny."

She took a deep breath. "I hope so."

There was silence in the room before Hakko decided to speak up again. "So...you fancy Ms. Oosawa?"

She turned to her, shocked. "What?"

"Maria! Do you like her?" Uncomfortable, she shrugged. "Listen. She's getting hitched once this ship docks. And the one she's marrying is a rich and powerful businesswoman. Out of will, to top it off."

Canaan nodded. "I know..."

Hakko smiled and patted her arm. "And I expect you to find a way to get her out of it."

She blinked twice then chuckled, looking away. "What are you talking about."

"Canaan." She turned her head to face her again. The look on her face was serious. "She didn't want this. She wants to be freed of having to go through crap like this. And what's worse, she's being forced to marry someone she doesn't even love. You think a woman deserves that?"

She thought for a moment. Of course, she had noticed. Why else would she wanna jump off? She wanted to get away from it all. She didn't want to suffer anymore.

She needed to be saved...and fast...

"But..." Canaan sighed. "I don't think I'm good enough."

"Trust me, you're the one," Hakko said, finally fixing her crooked tie.

* * *

To be continued...


End file.
